


Cat's in the Cradle

by therealblondie



Category: Tangled (2010)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 21:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3426587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealblondie/pseuds/therealblondie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon<br/>Little boy blue and the man on the moon<br/>When you comin' home, Dad<br/>I don't know when, but we'll get together then<br/>You know we'll have a good time then"</p>
<p>Soon after returning the princess home, Eugene gets a visit from someone he never thought he would see: his father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cat's in the Cradle

In just a matter of weeks, Eugene Fitzherbert’s life had been flipped upside down, sideways, and backwards. Not only had he fallen hard for a girl, who soon after he found out was the long lost princess, he’d also completely changed his lifestyle. He’d stopped thieving, and was now referring to himself as Eugene once more. But all of that was fine with him, really. Maybe a little bit daunting at times, but fine nonetheless. After all, they were all things that seemed to be well within his control. 

Nobody told him that that wasn’t the only life changing thing that would be happening to him so soon.

Word of the princess’s return soon spread throughout the kingdom, accompanied by festivities put on by the king and queen themselves. The partying whisked by in a blur of alcohol and fun, and soon enough the kingdom was beginning to settle down once more. By the end of the celebration, everyone knew who he was, and of his newfound closeness with a certain lost princess. 

Which was how Eugene found himself standing opposite of a man -- a Lord Herbert, he called himself -- who claimed to be his father. 

\---

Eugene sat on the floor of his bedchambers, his back slumped against the wall. He had been forced to endure some story about this man, who still insisted on referring to himself as his father, and his piss poor reasoning for abandoning a child. He wasn’t legitimate, apparently, which made him unwanted. Of course, now that he and his wife were still unable to conceive a child, Eugene was their last hope of continuing the blood lines (at least, that was what Lord Herbert had said. Eugene, on the other hand, had a feeling there was something else to it).

He let out a sigh, running his hands through his hair, grasping tightly at the short ends. Who did this guy think he was, running around and attempting to claim people as his own flesh and blood after twenty-six years? For years, Eugene had stayed awake late into the night, trying to imagine up what sort of terrible thing must have happened to his parents in order to get him stuck in an orphanage for his entire childhood. His mother dying in childbirth and his father refusing to accept the illegitimate child as his was never something that had crossed his mind. 

There was a sharp knock on his door, breaking him out of his thoughts. The person on the other side didn’t wait for a response, however, and simply burst inside. “Eugene!” Rapunzel declared, breathless and excited. “I just heard! Oh, I’m so happy for you -- now we both have families,” she was caught up in being so glad for him that it took her a moment to notice his slumped posture and disheveled hair. “Hey… what’s wrong?” she asked then, kneeling down next to him.

Brown eyes stayed fixated on the floor in front of him, his mouth set in a thin line. “That man,” he spoke, his words harsh and quiet, “is not my father.”

Rapunzel looked taken aback by his tone, and he almost felt sorry for it. It wasn’t her fault that this man showed up out of the blue, yet he had practically taken it out on her. That wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize. Not when he was still reeling as he was.

“I don’t… understand. Why aren’t you happy about this?” she asked then, green eyes squinting as she tried to grasp the concept. “You found your family, just like I found mine.”

Her words were what finally broke him. Was she serious? The two situations were not the same in any way. Her parents had spent all eighteen years searching for their daughter, sending out a yearly signal in the hopes of being reunited with their long lost child. His father? Well, his father had dumped him at an orphanage the soonest chance he got, only resurfacing when it was convenient to him. Eugene felt used, cheated, and incredibly angry. But the man he was angry with was not there, so it was redirected towards the brunette who sat beside him. “This isn’t the same thing at all,” he snapped. “God, I can’t believe you would be stupid enough to think that! Just leave, okay?”

He regretted saying what he did almost immediately, but it was too late. He could see the tears forming in her eyes, and the way she blinked furiously to keep them at bay. Her brows furrowed as she stared back at him. “I don’t know what I did wrong,” she spoke softly, voice cracking slightly towards the end. “I just thought you would be happy.” She got up then, seeming to listen to his request. A part of him wanted to reach out and ask her to stay, but the rest of him stayed silent. “I’m here if--if you need anything.” And with that she was out the door, closing it firmly behind her.

\---

He stayed in his room for several long hours, seemingly glued to the spot against the wall. He did nothing but think. As he sat, he thought of the conversation he had had with Lord Herbert and the pieces of his father’s sudden arrival seemed to fall into place. 

_“You may need me, but I most certainly don’t want anything to do with you. You can forget about it,” Eugene spoke with a bitterness he hardly recognized in himself._

_“I think you’ll soon see, my boy, that my claim to you as my son benefits you just as much as I.” The man reached out a hand as if to pat the younger’s shoulder but, upon the glare he received, seemed to think better of it and pulled away. He soon moved on with the conversation, talking about the lost princess, and of Eugene’s connection to her._

It was only now, when looking back on the conversation, that he realized what the man had meant. He was an orphan, an ex-criminal, and a nobody -- yet he had fallen for a princess. He wasn’t good enough for her, not in the eyes of her parents and the nobles, surely. But being the heir to a powerful lord… that would likely change their minds. Oh, it was a cruel trick of that man to play, dangling Eugene’s future in front of his face like that, knowing that if he refused it could all be taken away.

Somehow, Eugene couldn’t find it in himself to be angry anymore. He had spent all day trying to quell the anger that bubbled within him, and he was just tired of it. With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair, glancing up at the clock. It was late, and he had hardly eaten anything. He could feel his stomach practically eating itself, and he decided to make a quick dash to the kitchen. It was well enough into the night that he was sure nobody would notice him sneaking out of his room.

The idea was soon forgotten, however, when he saw a petite figure curled outside his door. There lay Rapunzel, asleep on the floor with her arms folded beneath her head. His features softened, and he felt himself relax at the sight of her. Not wanting to wake her, but not wanting to leave her on the floor of the hallway, he scooped her into his arms and moved back into his room, towards his bed.

Halfway there, he felt her stir in his arms, and he looked down to find her large eyes, hazy with sleep, staring back at him. “Hey,” she said, phrasing it as if it were a question, clearly confused as to what was going on. 

“Hey,” he repeated back to her. “I didn’t want to leave you out there all alone.” She nodded in response, seeming to catch on. There was a moment of silence between them before he felt the need to ask something. Laying her down on the bed, he spoke. “What were you doing out there?”

She gave a shrug, scooting herself into a more seated position, her back leaning against his pillows. “I didn’t want to leave you alone, but you didn’t want me in here. I thought that was a good alternative,” she said. 

The way she spoke made it seem like she viewed it as nothing, but to Eugene it was everything. Here he had been, thinking himself very alone in the world, when he had been blind to the fact that it was quite the opposite. He may not have a ‘family,’ but he had people like Rapunzel who cared for him, and that was enough for the ex-thief. “Thank you,” he said, truly grateful for her in that moment.

She responded with a bright smile, and a “you’re welcome,” and he knew that his outburst from earlier was behind them. He would likely apologize for it fully later, but just then there was no need. 

Removing his boots and doublet, he slid into bed beside her. “Would you be okay just… staying here for the night?” He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but her presence in that moment was soothing to him.

“Of course,” she responded, running her hand across his jawline. He leaned his head into her palm, sighing softly.

He may not know what would happen with his father, or what his future held for him. But he knew that Rapunzel would be there, for whatever he needed. And he was determined to do the same for her.


End file.
